A fast-growing hospitality business in East Anglia has expanded again with the acquisition of its fourth hotel.

Cameron Ventures Group, which is based in Mildenhall, has bought the Cedars Hotel in Stowmarket, which has been in private ownership for more than 30 years.

The Cedars joins a portfolio which already includes the Brome Grange hotel near Diss, the Priory Hotel in Bury St Edmunds and the Ipswich Hotel at Copdock, all members of the Best Western grouping on independent hotels.

Cameron Ventures, a member of the Future50 community of Norfolk and Suffolk’s most innovative and ambitious companies, also includes regional marquee hire company First Choice Marquees together with hotel management and property development businesses.

The group was formed by husband and wife team Brian and Kelly Keane who took on the Brome Grange Hotel in 2012, with the Priory Hotel being added shortly afterwards and the Ipswich Hotel just last year.

The Best Western Priory Hotel in Bury St Edmunds.

The acquisition of the Cedars Hotel, based on a Grade II-listed farmhouse which has been substantially extended, brings the total number of rooms within the group to nearly 200 and its workforce to around 160.

Mr Keane: “I’m delighted that Cameron Ventures has had the opportunity to buy the Cedars. It has huge potential and sits in a great location.

“I welcome the staff of the Cedars into the Cameron Ventures Group family. Our plan is to invest in the business, particularly to grow the corporate facilities, and to capitalise on the vibrant Stowmarket economy.”

He added: “Our group strategy involves further growth and we’ll be looking to add another hotel to our portfolio in 2018.”

The Best Western Ipswich Hotel at Copdock.

The purchase price agreed for the Cedars Hotel has not been disclosed but the property was marketed April last year through specialist hospitality sector agent Fleurets with a guide price for the freehold of £975,000.

Tony and Jill Carter, two of the three vendors, and who will both remain with the business, said in a joint statement: “Alongside our good friend Clive Barley, it’s been a privilege to have been the guardians of this hotel for the last 32 years and we are pleased that, in Brian and Kelly, we have found hoteliers who share the same values as ourselves and will be able to take the business forward once more.”